£20,000 reward for information on Parklife Weekender death

THE ORGANISERS of the Parklife Weekender have offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man responsible for the death of Robert Hart.

The offer comes after the family of Mr Hart made an emotional appeal to track down his killer, and nearly a week after his death last Thursday.

A statement by the organisers read: “Tomorrow marks a week since the sad passing of Robert Hart and our thoughts continue to be with his family, who have been going through unthinkable pain since then.

“From the start we believed that, out of the 70,000 people at the festival, there must have been one person who knows who was responsible for this cowardly act.

“After careful consultation with Greater Manchester Police, who have in turn been supporting the family, we are now able to offer £20,000 for information which leads the authorities to identifying the attacker and convicting him for the crime.

“The response from the public in support of the family has been overwhelming so far.

"Please, if you have any information that can help, please call police on the numbers below.

“We will not stop until the offender is caught. RIP Robert Hart.

“Sacha, Sam, Jon and The Parklife Team.”

Robert, aged 26 from Macclesfield, was dancing with his girlfriend, Gemma Parry, in front of the main stage at about 9.15pm on June 7 when he was attacked and punched — once in the head, and possibly a second time in the chest.

It is believed Robert was attacked after being involved in a row when Gemma was hit with an inflatable doll.

Police have issued an e-fit of the man, and describe him as a mixed race male in his late 20s, about 6ft 1in, with a muscular build and short and dark hair that was shaved at the sides.

He was also wearing shorts and a blue, bomber-style jacket with the letter 'A' in white on the front.

Det Insp Richard Eales, from the GMP, said: “Over the past week, we have been carrying out a thorough and significant police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack and subsequent death of Robert Hart.

“While we have been pursuing a number of lines of inquiry, we believe that there are still people out there who have information that can help us identify this man.

“Parklife organisers have already been assisting us thoroughly with this operation, and now they have kindly offered this significant amount of money in a further bid to catch the man responsible for Robert’s tragic death.

“It is very unlikely that this man went to a festival on his own.

“Someone out there was with this man when the attack happened, or knows something that will help us identify him.

“Please do not shield this man with your silence - he does not deserve the protection you are offering him at the moment.

"This reward is only for information in relation to the attack of Robert Hart.

“At this moment in time there is no link between the assault of Robert and the pictures being circulated on social media which show a man being kicked in the head.

"They are unrelated incidents and we are concentrating solely on the attack of Robert, which occurred in front of the main stage at around 9.15pm on the Saturday evening."